Rumor: Google Nexus Two will be available by the end of this year

Take this one with a pinch of salt. The rumor du jour is that there will in fact be a Google Nexus Two, despite earlier claims from Google that this won’t be the case.

City AM has some sources that claim the smartphone will be available in the UK in time for the holidays, and will be sold exclusively through Carphone Warehouse.

Now this is interesting. There’s no mention of a release time frame for the US. This may just not have been of interest to the source, but on the other hand may mean Google will push the Nexus Two primarily in Europe. Which would make sense – Android devices are doing very well in the US. Perhaps the Nexus Two would help push sales up elsewhere in the world.

Partnering with Carphone Warehouse also makes sense if Google’s desire to circumvent the carriers is still alive and kicking. They tried to sell the Nexus One directly online and that didn’t work out very well, but Carphone Warehouse is an independent retailer that has loads of experience in selling SIM-free, unlocked devices. Although it remains to be seen what Google’s plan is for countries that don’t have a CPW presence.

No details about the hardware were released. No specs, and no word about what company will be making the device, but apparently it’s unlikely that it’s Samsung. I’d bet on HTC, but I’d really like Google to do something naughty and have the phone built by Huawei or ZTE and make it very, very cheap compared to its competition. We’ll see.